Textile machine and service cart for textile machines

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a textile machine having a plurality of workstations of the same type, which produce packages, more particularly cross-wound packages, and having one thread accumulator each and at least one service cart, which can be moved along the workstations. The present invention also relates to a service cart for a textile machine. In order to provide a textile machine having a plurality of workstations having thread accumulators, in the case of which textile machine fault states that occur in connection with the thread accumulator can be automatically eliminated, there is provision for the service cart to have malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from German National Patent ApplicationNo. DE 102020111342.0, filed Apr. 27, 2020, entitled “Textilmaschinesowie Servicewagen für Textilmaschinen”, the entire contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a textile machine having a plurality ofworkstations of the same type, which produce packages, more particularlycross-wound packages, each of which has one thread accumulator and atleast one service cart, which can be moved along the workstations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Textile machines of the aforementioned type are known from the prior artin a variety of embodiments. These textile machines usually have aplurality of workstations arranged adjacent to one another, at which athread is wound onto a package, generally a cross-wound package. Thesecan be winding machines or spinning machines. In a spinning machine, athread is manufactured from a supplied sliver, for example; afterexiting the spinning unit, the thread passes, in succession in thedirection of the thread path, i.e. in the transport direction of thethread, through the pull-off device and the thread accumulator arrangedone after the other, for example; finally, the thread is then wound ontoa cross-wound package by means of a thread winding device. It is notabsolutely necessary for the thread winding device and the threadaccumulator to be arranged one immediately following the other, butrather additional components of the workstation can also be interposed.Spinning machines of prior art include, in particular, air-spinningmachines and rotor spinning machines, which are likewise generally knownfrom the prior art.

In the textile machines, the thread accumulators at the workstations areused for the intermediate storage of a thread section, the term“intermediate storage” being understood to mean the arrangement of athread loop during the transport, e.g. from a spinning unit to thewinding device within the thread accumulator, so that fluctuations inthe winding speed of the winding device and/or of a pull-off device aswell as fluctuations in the delivery speed of the spinning unit can becompensated for, in which case the filling level of the threadaccumulator fluctuates.

In comparison to textile machines having workstations which do not havea thread accumulator, workstations having thread accumulators canexperience new fault states that cannot be eliminated using conventionalfault elimination devices which, for example, are arranged at theworkstations or are provided by the service cart, which service cart canbe moved along the workstations and can be positioned at theworkstations that experience a fault. The new types of fault statesinclude, for example, the tearing of the thread within the threadaccumulator, which, for lack of a suitable fault elimination device onthe service cart or at the workstation, makes it necessary to carry outthe fault elimination by means of a manual intervention by the operatingpersonnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Proceeding therefrom, the problem addressed by the present invention isthat of providing a textile machine having a plurality of workstationscomprising thread accumulators, in which textile machine fault statesthat occur in connection with the thread accumulator can be eliminatedin an automated manner.

The present invention solves the problem by means of a textile machinehaving a plurality of workstations of the same type, which producepackages, more particularly cross-wound packages, and each of whichcomprises one thread accumulator and at least one service cart, whichcan be moved along the workstations, characterised in that the servicecart has malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminatingfault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can beattributed to the thread accumulator; and by means of a service cartcharacterised by malfunction-eliminating devices for automaticallyeliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or canbe attributed to the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, themalfunction-eliminating devices comprise a cleaning unit for removingthread remnants from the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, themalfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection devicefor checking the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the service cartcomprises a thread joining device.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the thread joiningdevice has a thread-seeking nozzle and manipulating means forpositioning the free thread end in the area of a thread joiner, moreparticularly a splicing and/or knotting unit.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the thread joiningdevice is designed to arrange the free thread end at a piecing positionof the workstation.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the service cartcomprises thread inspection devices, more particularly optically actingthread inspection devices.

Advantageous further developments of the textile machine are describedherein.

The textile machine according to the present invention is characterisedin that the service cart has a malfunction-eliminating device forautomatically eliminating fault states that occur in the threadaccumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine according to the present invention, the servicecart, which can be moved along the individual workstations of thetextile machine and can be positioned at the individual workstations, isdesigned to eliminate faults that occur in connection with the use ofthe thread accumulator at the workstations. The specific malfunctions inconnection with the thread accumulator include, in particular, a threadtear within the thread accumulator, in the case of which themalfunction-eliminating devices on the service cart of the textilemachine according to the present invention can be used to perform afault elimination, in the course of which the connection of the threadis restored, for example from the spinning position to the take-uppackage, preferably the cross-wound package.

The textile machine according to the present invention particularlyensures that fault states in connection with the thread accumulator canbe eliminated in an automated manner so that manual intervention by theoperating personnel is not necessary. As a result of the decrease inmanual interventions for correcting faults, the downtime of theworkstations can be reduced considerably. Since the fault states inconnection with the thread accumulator occur only to a limited extent,arranging the corresponding malfunction-eliminating devices on a servicecart is a particularly economical solution in comparison to arrangingcorresponding malfunction-eliminating devices at the individualworkstations. When required, the service cart can quickly move to theworkstation in question and, while there, can reliably eliminate thefault occurring in connection with the thread accumulator.

According to the present invention, the service cart is designed for theelimination of malfunctions that result from the use of the threadaccumulators at the workstations. Furthermore, the service cart can alsobe designed to perform other work, such as eliminating othermalfunctions not related to the thread accumulator, or exchanging thecross-wound packages.

In principle, the embodiment of the malfunction-eliminating devices forthe fault elimination of thread accumulator-specific malfunction statescan be freely chosen. According to a particularly advantageousembodiment of the present invention, however, themalfunction-eliminating devices comprise a cleaning unit for removingthread remnants from the thread accumulator. The use of a cleaning unitparticularly ensures that thread remnants or residues resulting from thethread path through the thread accumulator can be removed from thethread accumulator, where such thread remnants or residues could lead tomalfunctions. The cleaning unit is used in the context of theelimination of a thread accumulator-specific malfunction, and thecleaning unit can be, for example, a pneumatically acting cleaning unit,air flow being produced within the thread accumulator by means ofpositive pressure or negative pressure and contaminants being removed bymeans of this air flow.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, themalfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection devicefor checking the thread accumulator. The optical inspection device canbe designed to identify the fault occurring at the workstation so thatsuitable measures can be taken to eliminate the fault. Alternatively oradditionally, the optical inspection device can also be used to monitorthe fault elimination and/or to check the fault eliminations carriedout, in which case the interior of the thread accumulator is checked forremaining residues and/or the thread path within the thread accumulatorafter the fault elimination is checked by means of the opticalinspection device, for example.

As part of the fault elimination, it is generally necessary to rejoin atorn thread so that the winding process can be continued at theworkstations of the textile machine. In order to produce the threadjoint, suitable joining devices can be arranged at the individualworkstations of, for example, winding machines. According to aparticularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, however,the service cart comprises a thread joining device. The arrangement of athread joining device on the service cart is a particularly economicalsolution for thread joining. The thread joining device can also beprovided in addition to the thread joining devices arranged at theworkstations, in which case the thread joining device formed on theservice cart is designed in particular to rejoin the thread after athread accumulator-specific problem has occurred.

In principle, the embodiment of the thread joining device can be freelychosen. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, however,the thread joining device has a thread-seeking nozzle and manipulatingmeans for positioning the free thread end, which was pulled from thecross-wound package, in the area of a thread joiner, more particularly asplicing and/or knotting unit. The corresponding embodiment of thethread joining device makes the service cart independent of thecorresponding units at the workstations. The thread joining devicedesigned according to this further development of the present inventioncompletely allows the thread end intended to be joined to be removedfrom the cross-wound package and, after preparation, to be fed to thethread joiner. A thread joining device designed accordingly ensuresparticularly reliable functioning because of the optimal orientation ofthe individual units with respect to one another, and downtime can thusbe additionally reduced.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the threadjoining device can also be designed to arrange the free thread end at apiecing position of the workstation. In the case of a correspondingembodiment of the service cart, a thread joint can therefore be reliablyproduced anew by means of the service cart without the use of units atthe workstation, the thread joint being produced at the piecing positionof the workstation, at which the free thread end coming from thecross-wound package is joined to the thread fed from the spinningdevice.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is alsoprovided that the service cart comprises thread inspection devices, moreparticularly optically acting thread inspection devices. The threadinspection devices allow the thread joint to be checked, in particularafter the thread has been rejoined, and allow the operation at theworkstation to be enabled following a positive check. Faulty joints canbe detected by means of the thread inspection device and can beeliminated by means of suitable measures so that new malfunctionsresulting from the faulty joint are avoided.

The present invention also solves the problem by the service cart whichis characterised in that it has a malfunction-eliminating device forautomatically eliminating fault states that occur in the threadaccumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator. Theservice cart can be designed according to one or more of the furtherdevelopments of the service cart that are presented above with respectto the textile machine, in which case the functionality of the servicecart for the textile machine can be additionally increased.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment example of the present invention is explained below withreference to the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a simplified view of a textile machine in the form of aspinning machine, comprising a plurality of workstations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a simplified representation of a textile machine 1, whichis in the form of spinning machine and has a plurality of workstations 2arranged adjacent to one another. Each workstation 2 of the textilemachine 1 comprises: a sliver source 3, which can be, for example, aspinning can when the workstation 2 in question is a spinning position;a drafting system 4; a spinning device 5; a take-up roller pair 6; ayarn clearer 7; a thread repositioning apparatus 8; a thread accumulator17; and a cross-wound package 9 of a winding device. A service cart 10movably mounted on rails 11, 12 running along the textile machine 1. Adrive unit 13 arranged at one end of the textile machine 1 is used todrive the textile machine 1.

In the case of a malfunction at a workstation 2 in the area of thethread accumulator 17, the service cart 10 is positioned along thetextile machine 1 at the workstation 2 that has the malfunction. In thecase of a thread break which, for example, has occurred within thethread accumulator 17, the service cart 10 is moved to the workstation 2in question, is positioned there and begins the fault elimination usingthe malfunction-eliminating devices, which are not shown here. In thecase of a thread break within the thread accumulator 17, the servicecart 10 can find the torn thread end lying on the circumferentialsurface of the cross-wound package 9 by means of a thread-seekingnozzle, which is numbered among the malfunction-eliminating devices. Asusual, after the spinning device 5 has been cleaned, handling devices ofprior art numbered among the malfunction-eliminating devices convey thisthread end, after appropriate preparation, back to the area of thespinning device 5, where this thread end is kept ready for the actualpiecing process. At the same time, a defined thread length is unwound bymeans of the drive of the cross-wound packages 9 and is intermediatelystored in the thread accumulator 17.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   -   1 Textile machine    -   2 Workstation    -   3 Sliver source    -   4 Drafting system    -   5 Spinning device    -   6 Take-up roller pair    -   7 Yarn clearer    -   8 Thread repositioning apparatus    -   9 Cross-wound package    -   10 Service cart    -   11 Rail    -   12 Rail    -   13 Drive unit    -   17 Thread accumulator

It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in theart that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility andapplication. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present inventionother than those herein described, as well as many variations,modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from orreasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoingdescription thereof, without departing from the substance or scope ofthe present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has beendescribed herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment, itis to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative andexemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes ofproviding a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoingdisclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the presentinvention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments,adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A textile machine having a plurality of workstations of the sametype, which produce packages, and each of which comprises one threadaccumulator and at least one service cart, which is movable along theworkstations, characterised in that the service cart hasmalfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating faultstates that occur in the thread accumulator and/or is attributable tothe thread accumulator.
 2. The textile machine according to claim 1,characterised in that the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise acleaning unit for removing thread remnants from the thread accumulator.3. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that themalfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection devicefor checking the thread accumulator.
 4. The textile machine according toclaim 1, characterised in that the service cart comprises a threadjoining device.
 5. The textile machine according to claim 1,characterised in that the thread joining device has a thread-seekingnozzle and manipulator for positioning the free thread end in the areaof a thread joiner.
 6. The textile machine according to claim 1,characterised in that the thread joining device is designed to arrangethe free thread end at a piecing position of the workstation.
 7. Thetextile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the servicecart comprises thread inspection devices.
 8. A service cart for atextile machine according to claim 1, characterised bymalfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating faultstates that occur in the thread accumulator and/or is attributable tothe thread accumulator.
 9. The textile machine according to claim 1,wherein the packages are cross-wound packages.
 10. The textile machineaccording to claim 5, wherein the thread joiner is a splicing and/orknotting unit.
 11. The textile machine according to claim 7, wherein thethread inspection devices are optically acting thread inspectiondevices.